APEC CEO Dialogues Malaysia 2020 Virtually Connects Asia-Pacific's Government and Business Leaders to Discuss Top Priorities in the Aftermath of the Pandemic

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Nov. 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The APEC CEO Dialogues Malaysia 2020 will take place Thursday, November 19 to Friday, November 20, Kuala Lumpur time (GMT+8), and concurrently in time zones around the world. Under the theme "APEC Re-Imagined: Priorities in the Aftermath of COVID-19," the virtual event, hosted by the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) - Malaysia, will connect government and business leaders from across the 21 APEC member economies to discuss urgent issues facing the Asia-Pacific region and the world in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a forum that promotes economic integration and trade. The APEC CEO Dialogues Malaysia 2020 will be the first all-virtual reimagination of the annual APEC CEO Summit, known as "the Board meeting of the Asia-Pacific," for the COVID-19 era. APEC economies comprise approximately 60% of global GDP, half of the world's global trade and 40% of the world's population.

"This year has been more disruptive, difficult, uncertain and challenging than most people could have imagined. Global trade and investment can lead to economic recovery and resilience to future crises," said Dato' Rohana Mahmood, Chair, ABAC 2020. "The APEC CEO Dialogues Malaysia 2020 will offer a forum for the region's leaders to discuss their commitment to open markets, integration, inclusion and sustainability to achieve economic growth and stability within our communities."

The APEC CEO Dialogues will feature an engaging, 25-hour program. Participants will include APEC Leaders, global CEOs, visionary entrepreneurs, highly respected thought leaders and subject matter experts from across the region.

"The current challenges facing the world call for a globally coordinated response," said Datuk Ruben Emir Gnanalingam, Chair, APEC CEO Dialogues Malaysia 2020. "The APEC CEO Dialogues Malaysia 2020 present a unique opportunity for exchange, cooperation and partnership – both between the public and private sector, and among the 21 Economies that comprise APEC."

This year's APEC CEO Dialogue discussions will focus on our region's and the world's most pressing challenges and how governments and the private sector can work together to spur growth in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Session topics include:

• Essential Digital Ingredients of a Path to Post-COVID Recovery
• The State of the World in the Aftermath of COVID-19
• The Future of International Cooperation
• The Future of Global Growth
• Indonesia's Priorities
• Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World
• Asia-Pacific's Time
• The Economic Value of Modernizing Our Health System: Lessons Learned from COVID-19
• ASEAN's Place in APEC's Future
• APEC's Artificial Intelligence Opportunity
• Resilience Through Digitalization, Innovation and Technology
• The Challenge of Inclusive Growth
• Empowering Women for Economic Recovery
• Re-Energizing APEC's Economic Recovery
• Restarting Asia Pacific Growth
• APEC Reimagined

Confirmed current speakers include:

• Featured Economy Leaders:
• H.E. Muhyiddin Yassin, Prime Minister, Malaysia
• H.E. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister, Canada
• H.E. Sebastián Piñera, President, Chile
• H.E. Xi Jinping, President, People's Republic of China
• H.E. Joko Widodo, President, Indonesia
• H.E. Yoshihide Suga, Prime Minister, Japan
• H.E. Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister, New Zealand
• H.E. Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister, Singapore
• H.E. Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister, Thailand

• Richard Adkerson, President, CEO and Vice Chairman, Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold
• Ian Bremmer, President and Founder, Eurasia Group
• Antony Cook, Regional Vice President and Chief Legal Counsel, Microsoft
• Rana Foroohar, Global Business Columnist and Associate Editor, Financial Times; Global Economic Analyst, CNN; and Best-Selling Author
• Dr. Ralph Highnam, CEO and Founder, Volpara Solutions
• Ho Meng Kit, CEO, Singapore Business Federation
• Dr. Panos Kanavos, Deputy Director, London School of Economics Health
• Professor Kishore Mahbubani, Author of "Has China Won?"
• Masamichi Kono, Deputy Secretary-General, OECD
• Marc-Antoine Lucchini, Senior Vice President and Head of International General Medicines, Sanofi
• Peter Lovelock, Director and Founder, Technology Research Project Corporate (TRPC)
• Simon Milner, Vice President, Public Policy Asia-Pacific, Facebook
• Robert Moritz, Global Chairman, PwC
• Sridharan Nair, Managing Partner, PwC Malaysia
• Kawal Preet, President, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, FedEx Express
• Irtiza Sayyed, President, ExxonMobil LNG Market Development, Inc
• Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook
• Brad Smith, President, Microsoft
• Surina Shukri, CEO, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation
• Takesi Soda, Director, Petroleum & Natural Gas Division, METI
• Tengku Muhammad Taufik, President & Group CEO, Petronas
• Garance Wattez-Richard, Head of AXA Emerging Customers, AXA
• Fareed Zakaria, Host, "Fareed Zakaria GPS," CNN; Columnist, Washington Post; and Best-Selling Author
• Mari Pangestu, Managing Director, Development Policy and Partnerships, World Bank

APEC CEO Dialogues Malaysia 2020 sponsors include PwC (Knowledge Partner); Microsoft (Technology Partner); CIMB, Facebook, Freeport-McMoran, Petronas, Sanofi and Westports (Principal Partners); and Chevron, ExxonMobil and FedEx Express (Gold Sponsors).

Media Partners include Bloomberg, CGTN, CNBC, Financial Times and Media Prima Berhad.

For more information and to view the latest program agenda, please visit apecceodialogues2020.com. Follow the event on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

About APEC

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a regional economic forum established in 1989 to leverage the growing interdependence of the Asia-Pacific. APEC's 21 members aim to create greater prosperity for the people of the region by promoting balanced, inclusive, sustainable, innovative and secure growth and by accelerating regional economic integration.

About APEC CEO Dialogues Malaysia 2020

APEC CEO Dialogues Malaysia 2020 is the Asia Pacific's premier meeting of business and government leaders. The 25-hour all-virtual event invites APEC's business and government leaders to discuss the region's priorities in the aftermath of COVID-19. Participants will include APEC Leaders, global CEOs, visionary entrepreneurs, highly respected thought leaders and subject matter experts from across the region. The APEC CEO Dialogues is hosted by the Malaysia delegation of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC).

The APEC CEO Summit, established in 1996, takes place annually alongside APEC Leaders' meetings and is a unique opportunity for global business leaders to engage with Presidents, Prime Ministers and other key ministers from across the region. In 2020, given the ongoing COVID-19 health pandemic, the APEC CEO Summit is being reimagined by its Malaysia host as a virtual series of APEC CEO Dialogues.